Top scorers square off in Toronto-Minnesota matchup
Minnesota Wild (31-14-3, second in the Central) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (32-14-4, third in the Atlantic)
Toronto; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Two of the NHL's top scorers, Auston Matthews and Kirill Kaprizov, meet when Toronto and Minnesota square off. Matthews ranks sixth in the NHL with 62 points and Kaprizov is eighth in the league with 62 points.
The Maple Leafs are 18-5-1 on their home ice. Toronto is first in the Eastern Conference with 6.2 assists per game, led by Morgan Rielly averaging 0.7.
The Wild are 15-10-2 on the road. Minnesota has scored 182 goals and ranks third in the league averaging 3.8 goals per game. Kaprizov leads the team with 23.
In their last meeting on Dec. 4, Minnesota won 4-3.
TOP PERFORMERS: Alexander Kerfoot leads the Maple Leafs with a plus-13 in 50 games this season. Matthews has 17 points over the last 10 games for Toronto.
Kaprizov leads the Wild with 23 goals and has 62 points. Mats Zuccarello has nine assists over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
LAST 10 GAMES: Maple Leafs: 5-4-1, averaging 3.9 goals, 6.6 assists, 3.7 penalties and 7.7 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game with an .890 save percentage.
Wild: 6-4-0, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.2 assists, four penalties and 9.2 penalty minutes while allowing 2.8 goals per game with a .916 save percentage.
INJURIES: Maple Leafs: Jake Muzzin: day to day (upper body).
Wild: None listed.
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